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Comment by biztos | Hacker News Reader

I get that large bills provide more opportunities for conterfeiters, money launderers, and other (in the eyes of the State) bad actors, I am surprised to see how low the line is being drawn. In the US they only go up to $100.[0]

The worrying thing is simply that it's in the State's interest to have every monetary transaction be electronic and thus entirely traceable, also in aggregate; whereas it's in my interest to be able to spend (or loan, or give away) my money privately.

The lower the available currency denominations, the more this balance shifts towards the State.

[0]https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/faqs/Currency/Pages...

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You should be worried less about traceability, and more about negative interest rates turning you into an economic slave in the pursuit of unattainable growth.

A lot easier to chip away at your savings if they're bits in the bank versus notes under the mattress.

A lot easier to chip away at savings if they're under the mattress losing value rather than in a savings account earning above-inflation interest

Show me a savings account in a developed country earning above inflation interest.

NetSpend (US) promotional rate is 5% annually. Capped at $5000, but that's certainly above inflation for that balance.

Various banks and credit unions (US) have promotional (capped) 2% rates. (Above inflation.) Ally bank (US, online) has a ~1% rate, which is sometimes above inflation (uncapped).

More info: https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/banking/nerdwallets-top-high...

If you're capping it at a dollar amount, its a marketing promotion/cost, not a true market interest rate.

Ally and others linked at nerdwallet are not capped.

Right, but as I point out below, you're not getting ahead making 0.1% above inflation. You're barely tracking it if it increases (and with rents and healthcare costs spiking/not properly tracked in inflation, I'd say you're most assuredly not staying ahead of inflation).

Yeah, but you didn't ask to "get ahead." Just:

> Show me a savings account in a developed country earning above inflation interest.

Anyway, 0.1% above inflation still beats 0% cash-under-mattress (in inflationary environments).

https://www.fnbodirect.com has .95% for savings (they used to have 6%)

Inflation for March was .85%.

I think we're quibbling when the difference is .1 percent. Too much capital is chasing too few returns.

You must be f. kidding? http://blog.geckoresearch.com/content/11658

Also: http://www.wsj.com/articles/rising-rents-outpace-wages-in-wi...

Here's my current account http://www.santander.co.uk/uk/current-accounts/123-current-a...

Needless to say you can do a lot better with specialist products and better still with funky startup consumer investment platforms if you don't mind the risk

> Monthly interest of 3% AER (variable) payable on your entire balance up to £20,000, when you have at least £3,000 in your account.

Capped.

Sure. After that I have to use their actual savings products, which also pay over current inflation rates. (Or earn 5-12% on a lending product with actual risk associated with it). Try sticking more than £20k in your mattress.

Dunno if Poland qualifies as developed country, but most banks here offer an account with 3-5% interest above inflation (or deflation, as we are currently experiencing since year and a half).

Goldman Sachs just started to offer 1.05% on savings: https://www.gsbank.com

US inflation for last 12 months as of March 2016 was 0.9%.

Livret A in France, 0.75% interest.

Negative interest rates will chip away at savings in a bank, in that case best to have cash

I don't know... I'm already pretty well chained to someone else's "pursuit of unattainable growth" in the long term, and I've seen too may currency fluctutions (and retirings!) to want to only own cash.

But I do think it's a reasonable concern that the same laws written to restrict financing of terrorism are equally useful to restrict financing of (say) democratic opposition parties.

In the UK de facto we only go up to £20 (about $29)

The £50 note exists, but is seldom accepted because it's so rarely seen that the average person wouldn't be able to tell the difference between the genuine article and a parody £50 note, never mind a competently produced counterfeit. Pretty clear that British idiosyncrasy is driven by individuals not wanting to deal with large denomination bills rather than state malfeasance though.

I doubt it. The EUR 500 bill would raise more eyebrows. I 've never seen one. Banks will never give you one (not even E 200 bills).

Yes, the 500€ I can understand

Eliminating the 50£ and $100 is just a sad joke

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